I just got my first GWP pup and have a few questions. I have trained a couple of chesapekes previously and had great results. She is 9 weeks old and is already a handful. She is smarter than advertised and was progressing nicely (coming on command etc the first week) with nothing but praise to get her along. Now she just looks at me and ignores most commands. I know she is young and I have high expectations, my issue with this is more for her safety than anything else as she gets to come to work with me and I do not want her getting hit by a car etc. Any ideas on how to get her to listen. Also it is she to young to put a choke collar on for the leashed walks? I want her to hunt most of all, but I need a companion the other 330 days she's not in the field.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wires! As you have already found out - they are very smart. I have three wires currently, having gotten my first one 13 yrs ago (Doc) who is still alive and well. It is fine to walk your puppy on a slip collar not a true choke chain since she is so young. I have taught all my dogs to come with the use of a flexi lead - I have consistant recalls (does me no good if my dog does not come when called).

I am sure other gwp owners have other suggestions. You just need to figure out what will work for your dog.

All three of mine are totally different on how they react and respond. The same methond of training that I used for Doc did not work well for Sky (my 5 yr old spayed bitch). The methods used for Sky did not work for Elmo (my 18 month old intact male - Sky' s half brother). It is learn as you go.

Once YOU decide how you wish to live you life with this dog (forget for a bit that it is an adorable puppy!) then it really should be pretty easy.

I don't have a problem using a slip lead either on a puppy, just make sure you learn how to relax, and use the give and take method. Puppies need lots of exercise, lots of time free to explore and to learn how to be free and then how to come back. Find a good open field somewhere, and turn him loose to explore.

Teach your puppy now how to be free, how to return, and enjoy him. The more you can teach him now, the better everyone in your home will be in the future.

PS... Don't be afraid to tell the puppy NO! Decide what you will and will not put up with when this cute little fuzzball weighs 70 lbs. He will you know, and it won't be long. Lessons learned now, tend to stay for a lifetime!

All advice to now has been spot on--if I can make a suggestion. If you are going to develop this dog as a working dog, for now keep any behavioral or beginning obedience work separate from exposure in the field or water. In other words, for right now, there is nothing that this pup can do wrong when out in the field or water. Let the pup develop some independence. As long as there is no danger (streets, railroad, etc), let the pup explore, find game, scent, butterflies and grasshoppers. For now, don't put the brakes on the self discovery process. Teach the behavioral basics in the house or yard--the field and water is go time--there are no fouls!!! Only if the dog shows tendencies to just take off will you have to institute some basic "come" or come around" dicipline, but that shouldn't be for a while.

She has developed a new rather annoying habit.. Come is still an optional command for her and when she does she comes ready to play jumping and nipping, circling and barking. Any suggestions? She also chews on her leash and tries to play tug of war with it while we are walking. Need help as I am already bald and cant pull out any more hair.

Just to reiterate what has been said No is one of the most important commands a dog can know. One thing that helped me alot is the tone of voice you give the no command with a swat on the nose. Once the dog associates the calm, assertive, quiet no with a swat on the nose it should quickly stop doing what ever it is doing to avoid the swat. Using a calm and assertive voice at this stage helps out in the future when your dog roles in dead animals or is tall enough to snag a loaf of bread off the table when the dog needs to know that it has seriously crossed the line. One thing that helped us with the biting was we always kept a toy in our dogs mouth when it was time to play or wrestle. With the tug of war on the leash my pup did the same thing. I don't know if anybody else will support me in this but i would just continue to walk regardlesss if I was dragging my dog or not. He quickly learned that when he was on the leash I was in control and he needed to learn to deal with the situation. In dealing with it he learned quickly to make it more pleasant for himself by going where I went. But remember your dog is still very young so don't get to intense with anything. The advice from before in the field make everything pleasant. The come command for me in the field was easy I used a game of chase. Give the command then run like hell my Dog loves it and reliable comes now even without running. But I still keep him on his toes and reward him a chase from time to time. All with a grain of salt.

I don't want to sound nasty with this reply so please take it in the spirit in which it is offered.....
Why is Come still optional with her? Come is not, can not, should not be an option. You have to get this point across to the puppy, Come has to mean Git your butt over hear right now!

Now, one thing to consider.... do you call her constantly? Puppy, come. puppy come, puppy come? COME, is a one time command. If they don't respond, you must go get them, bring them to the spot you called them from and enforce COME. IF you stand there calling, come, come, come here, please come here, come here before I kill you... puppy hears Blah, blah,blah, blah with no consequences, no skill learned. In other words, they learn you aren't serious, your words are nothing more than noise.

What I do is if I want the puppies attention and I want them to come with me, in the direction I am going, but not necassarily Come To Me... I'll call their name and walk that way. Maybe use the command, lets go.... and wave an arm in that direction. Keep it happy, and if they turn and go with you, it's a wonderful thing! If they don't, keep going and go fast. But don't keep inviting them to come along! They'll figure it out eventually.

I save COME for when I want them to COME to me, no questions asked. At least in the beginning when they are young and learning! Keep your commands simple, seperate, and distinct for now. As they grow and mature, you will find yourself interchanging commands and they will understand the concepts of what you want much easier.

Think about your command words and what you want them to mean to the dog. Remember, they are dogs, not little people. Simple, keep it simple until they begin to "get it"!

in the companion training thread... go and read new puppy training. What I do is posted in there.

Wires can be tough, because they are very determined. But if you become more determined than the dog, it shouldn't be that hard. If after a couple of weeks of serious work on this, the dog is still blowing you off..... you may have a real knothead on your hands. Contact your breeder and discuss this all with them. How hard was mom and dad to train? Are they trained?